Contre Qui, Katniss?
by savemesalzburg
Summary: "Against whom, Katniss, have you assumed these thorns?" Peeta Mellark asks himself as he stares across his AP Literature classroom at the girl on fire. Modern AU. Strong Peeta/Katniss, and possible hints of Gale/Madge later on. M to be safe.
1. Chapter One: Contre Qui, Rose?

**CONTRE QUI, KATNISS?****  
**

**by savemesalzburg  
**

**Author's Note: So this is the first ever fanfiction that I'm going to be submitting, so I'm super nervous. I just hope you all like it. :. I really enjoy the Hunger Games, and I love the complicated relationship between Peeta and Katniss. I also love writing alternate universe things, it's my favorite thing to write about because it gives me more freedom as an author. Anywho, this is just going to be a cute little story about Peeta and Katniss...I'm not sure how long it's going to be, but I'll keep it going as long as I have something else to add to the plot. Maybe it'll become a series of short stories. Who knows? Anyway, the whole idea from this story came upon me from a lovely French poem titled "Contre Qui, Rose?" by Rainer Maria Rilke. We are playing a musical arrangement of it in Wind Ensemble, and I fell in love with the lyrics of the poem. And of course, who else could it make me think of, other than Peeta and Katniss. In English, it translates to "Against whom, Rose?"  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, nor do I own the poem Contre Qui Rose.  
**

* * *

**Chapter One: Contre Qui, Rose?  
**

"Okay, class, everyone take your seats! I'll take attendance and then we'll get started on today's new unit - French poetry!" The ever ecstatic and fashionable Miss Trinket called for the attention of AP Literature class. Everyone fell silent at the trill of her joyful voice. As much of a pleasure as she was to be around, she could be quite obnoxious and exhausting for the faint at heart.

Peeta Mellark sat in the front corner of the classroom, right by the door, a seat that he had chosen for himself on the first day of school. It was a seat that certainly served him right. He was a ball of sunshine, and lit up the room with his charm, good looks, and kind demeanor. Not only was he all of those things, but he was also incredibly intelligent as well. All in all, he was the person that you would want to take home to your mother no matter who you were, because she would absolutely love him to death. Almost everyone loved Peeta to death, there were very few people in this school that didn't like him, and mainly that was because they didn't really like anyone.

Today he was dressed smartly in a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt, the color of which made his dark blonde hair seem more golden today. His blue eyes also seemed to shine more now that they were left to reflect the light. All-in-all, he looked like quite the heart breaker. However, as attractive as he seemed to be, it never seemed to be attractive enough to get _her _attention. His eyes flitted across the room to focus on Katniss Everdeen, sitting five rows and two seats behind him. She looked so beautiful today, as she did every day. She was wearing a pair of worn out jeans with a rip in the knee, and an old sweater that looked like it had been knitted by someone's grandmother. However, the simple fact that she was wearing it was enough to make it look fantastic. Her brown hair, as always, was braided down her back and her gray eyes were staring intently out the window at the misty October morning. Today was going to be the day. Today he was going to ask her for her phone number, and he was going to get to know her better. It wasn't like he was completely invisible to her. They had been going to school together since they were five years old, they had spoken and crossed paths several times. But he had never once led her to believe that he had feelings for her. And he had. For as long as it had been that girls didn't have cooties.

Suddenly, Katniss turned her head and locked eyes with him. After a split second, Peeta's eyes were retreating back to the front of the classroom. He had to be more careful. This hadn't been the first time that he had been caught staring at her lately. He could remember last week while they were in Calculus, he had finished his work early and had let his eyes wander around the classroom, only to find her three rows across from him. She had looked up and locked eyes with him, and he had done the same exact thing as he did now: retreat his eyes back to the front of the classroom.

"Alright class, now, coming around is a sheet of paper that I would like you to keep in your notebooks. On it you will see two versions of the same poem, one in English, and one in _francaise_," Miss Trinket set the pile on Peeta's desk, and he took one for himself and passed it to the person sitting behind him. He let his eyes run down the page, taking in what it said. The poem written at the top of the page was all in French, and he honestly couldn't understand a word that it was saying. While the school offered a multitude of languages, he had decided that he was going to take Latin. There were a few connections that he was able to make, seeing as French was a Latin-based language, but other than that there was nothing that looked too familiar to him. However, reading the English translation nearly knocked his socks off, and sent his mind stumbling back to the girl sitting across the room.

"Does anyone out there no how to read French?" Miss Trinket asked, looking around the classroom. Some of the douchebags in the back of the class raised their hands, trying to be funny. The woman cleared her throat and stared them down. "Let me rephrase that. Does anyone out there know how to read French _well_?"

Complete silence.

"Well, it's nice to know that I am teaching well-known literature to a bunch of poorly-cultured apes!"

A few giggles across the classroom. It was funny because they all knew that she was being serious in calling them apes.

"All right, I guess if none of you can read the poem in its original form, I will have to!" With that, she cleared her throat and began to give a dramatized performance of these few lines of poetry. "Now, would someone like to read the English version? Yes, Miss Madge? Go right ahead!"

Peeta watched the mayor's daughter stand up, fortunately not blocking Katniss from his view. The lovely girl picked up her paper and began to read.

_"Against whom, Rose,  
have you assumed these thorns?  
Is it your too fragile joy that forced you to become this armed thing?  
But from whom does it protect you, this exaggerated defense?  
How many enemies have I lifted from you who did not fear it at all?  
On the contrary,  
from summer to autumn you wound the affection that is given to you."  
_

"Very nice, thank you!" Miss Trinket trilled as Madge smiled with a touch of red on her cheeks and sat down. "Now, I know there is very little time left, but your assignment, due the next time we meet, is your own version of this poem! I want you to use elements from the poem itself. I cannot wait to hear what you come up with. Class dismissed!"

And then Peeta knew. Today wasn't the day he was going to make Katniss aware of his feelings. It was going to be tomorrow. Today he simply was given the tools to make his feelings known.

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**That's the end of chapter one. :3 I hope it wasn't boring. I really like writing this story so far, and I hope you all enjoy reading it. :3 Reviews, feedback, and constructive criticism are all welcomed!  
**


	2. Chapter Two: The Artist

**CONTRE QUI, KATNISS?**

**by savemesalzburg  
**

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for your kind reviews and feedback. I'm glad you all enjoyed the first installment of this story. I realize that it was kind of short, but I was kind of just testing the waters. Hopefully from here on out, the chapters will be getting a little bit longer. I really enjoy writing this, it's slowly becoming an obsession. And seeing as I don't have school until Monday because of fucking Sandy, I can spend the rest of the week and the weekend writing it. And also the grocery store that I work at doesn't have power, so that's a plus, which means probably no work either. :D Woohoo. And all of my homework is done. So I have nothing to do with my life except for sit in front of the computer like a blob. I mean, I could go to the gym, but who wants to do that? XD  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games, nor do I own the poem Contre Qui Rose.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Two:  
The Artist  
**

After the morning, the day went by almost in a blur for Peeta. It was AP Latin, AP Art, AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Biology, AP Global History, and to end the day he had health with probably the most unpredictable teacher in the school, Haymitch. It was always Russian Roulette when it came to that class, because you really had no idea what to expect for the day. Well, there was one thing that was always a constant in that class, and that was the fact that Haymitch was drunk. It was a wonder that they even allowed him into the school as intoxicated as he was. Weren't they supposed to be enforcing the whole "no underage drinking", and "don't drink and drive" thing? Haymitch obviously wasn't underage, but he had to be drunk when he was driving here. Then again, if he was one of those functional drunks, it probably was better for him to drive when he was drunk than when he was sober. Maybe that was why the kept him as a health teacher: he was a living example that pretty much shouted "Don't drink kids, or you'll end up like me."

"Don't drink, don't do drugs, stay in school," Haymitch slurred, leaning against his desk and taking a swig from a clouded bottle on his desk. It wasn't anything they hadn't been hearing since the fourth grade. They even had to sing some stupid song about it when they were in middle school to show their parents that they had learned something. Obviously the Panem school system had something to prove, not that it actually worked or anything. Most of the cooler members of this school were drinking and smoking every weekend at one person or another's house. Peeta normally liked to stay away from those parties, but he showed up at the more important ones. Mainly just Halloween, After-Prom, and New Years. He attended the occasional Christmas party as well, depending on who was having it. Intelligently, he always offered to be designated driver so he wouldn't be forced to drink too heavily. If anything, he would have something light at the beginning of the party, but he usually preferred nothing at all. His entertainment came from watching everyone else get wasted and do stupid shit.

"I had an assignment for you all, but I'm pretty sure the majority of you won't do it, so I'm just gonna throw in a movie on the dangers of meth," he said, stumbling over to the old television and shoving a dusty video tape into the ancient VCR. "Mellark, I doubt you're going to be able to see anything all the way over there, so why don't you come up here and sit next to Everdeen?"

Peeta's heart nearly stopped in his chest. He had to be kidding, right? He could see fine from his seat second from the door, and he didn't ask the kid next to him to move. This had to be some kind of strange coincidence.

"What's the matter, Mellark? I'm pretty damn sure she got rid of her cooties ten years ago, now move it!"

He obediently grabbed his notebooks and rose from his seat, moving wordlessly across the classroom to sit by Katniss. As he sat down next to her, he felt her gray eyes burning into him. It was like she had x-ray vision and she was reading every thought that his heart had asked his head to think about her. It felt like she could hear the words on the back of his tongue screaming, "Dammit, Katniss, I love you!"

But no, she couldn't.

Instead, he smiled at her and coolly said, "What's up?"

Her eyes blared into his as her lips mustered a small smile and a confident "Hey, Peeta."

And that was it. Her eyes slid from his towards the television screen, completely ignoring his presence like he sat next to her all the time. For the first time in a long time, Peeta became frustrated with himself and the situation. Was he really that invisible to her? Did she really just pretend to act like he didn't exist? Or was she just oblivious to the entire situation? He didn't quite understand. All he knew was that he was going to have to try harder, and this was going to be his last year to do it. By the time he graduated high school, he was going to have kissed, danced with, and proclaimed his love to Katniss Everdeen.

He spent the rest of the class contemplating ways that he could go about doing that, but unfortunately nothing that sounded like it would realistically work came to mind. His drive to the bakery was spent in the same mind state, trying to think of ways that he would be able to put his goals into motion. Of course, he already had the idea for his confession down, but once it was out, how would he get her to learn to love him too? Then again, he couldn't make her love him...but he could try his hardest to get her to see what a great guy he was. Peeta couldn't remember having a crush on anyone else in his life. She had always been the only one.

Once he got to the bakery, however, he had to temporarily wipe his mind of its current state. As always, Mr. Mellark was happy to see his son, and asked him about his day before turning the family-owned business over to him for the night. Peeta liked working at the bakery in the afternoons. There were very few customers, and he usually only had to clean it once. In between baking tomorrow morning's bread, he even had time to work on his homework, which he usually finished by the time he had to close up. As usual, tonight he finished everything...except for the AP Literature assignment. That was something that he wanted to take as much time as possible to look over and think about. It had to be perfect. He had to put everything into it.

At 9:30, Peeta gave everything a last look over and locked up for the night. As strong and confident as he was, he always hated walking out to his car at night alone. If he had to, he knew he would be able to take on an attacker, but it wasn't something he wanted to do. It was a quiet drive home. Normally he would be listening to music, but his stereo system was currently broken. He would have to spend the upcoming weekend trying to fix it, because driving home in the dark in complete silence made one feel quite lonely. Once he arrived home, he parked the car in the driveway and quietly made his way into the house.

As usual, he found that his parents were already asleep. That was a common occurrence, seeing as they had to wake up at four in the morning to finish the baking before the opening of the store. He placed his books in his bedroom and went to the bathroom to take a shower. He made sure that he was as quiet as possible, because if his mother woke up, well, lets just say Peeta might end up falling asleep with a bunch of red marks in the shape of a wooden spoon on his back. No, Mrs. Mellark wasn't abusive. She just had well...anger issues.

After his shower, Peeta went back into his bedroom and replaced the towel that hung on his waist with a pair of boxers. It was only then that he went into his schoolbag, grabbed his AP Literature notebook, and sat down at his desk to write. For fifteen straight minutes, he stared at the empty sheet of notebook paper in front of him. He wasn't quite sure where to start. Eventually writing his poem turned into doodling, which turned into half of a face on the margin of his notebook paper, which turned into looking a lot like Katniss by the time that he was done with it. Although he wouldn't admit it, she was one of his favorite subjects to draw. He had only sketched her once or twice, and wouldn't dare draw anything involving her in his art class. One thing he mentally added to his list was to ask her one day to sit for him so that he could draw her, perfectly, and then paint her.

It was past midnight by the time that Peeta even started on the poem, but once he got started everything came quickly and he was in bed before one. It took him awhile to fall asleep, however, because he was so excited and anxious for class tomorrow morning. He was quite sure that Miss Trinket would ask people to volunteer to read theirs, or maybe everyone in the class would be put on the spot. Peeta wondered what Katniss was writing her poem about. It probably had something to do with nature or archery. She was, in fact, captain of the archery team and had won several titles in competition, which was just another thing that made her so amazing. He finally drifted off to sleep around two in the morning with a smile in his face and, for the first time, hope in his seemingly hopeless situation.

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**Haw haw, you all have to wait to read Peeta's poem for the next chapter. :3 Although if I have anything to do with it, it will be up by tomorrow. Don't get used to this though. As soon as school starts again, posting might go down to once a week. =(  
Oh, and I hope you all enjoyed sexy shower Peeta. ;)  
Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome. :3**


	3. Chapter Three: Contre Qui, Katniss?

**CONTRE QUI, KATNISS?**

**by savemesalzburg  
**

**Author's Note: Thank you once again for all of your positive feedback. :3 I love to see the number of people following this story go up several times a day. Thank you so much to my (currently) 28 followers, you guys are fantastic. :3 I really appreciate your interest in this story and my writing. So this chapter is where it all goes down. Well, not all of it, but a lot of it. This is the chapter where Peeta will share is poem with the class and Katniss will finally know of his love for her. Next chapter, I'm going to focus on Katniss and her reaction to this entire thing, because I haven't focused on Katniss like, at all. xD I like writing Peeta's point of view though. Poor cute lovesick Peeta. Anyway, I hope you like how I twisted the poem a little bit to fit the needs of what Peeta is trying to say to Katniss. I hope you like this chapter. :3  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games or the poem Contre Qui Rose.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Contre Qui, Katniss?  
**

In the morning, Peeta woke up feeling a lot less hopeful than he had the night before. It was definitely the nerves getting to him, now that he actually had to stand up in front of the class and proclaim the fact that he loved Katniss while everyone was watching. He knew that he wouldn't be getting shit from anyone, seeing as he was one of the most popular people in this year's senior class. But still, the idea of saying his feelings out loud unnerved him. Or maybe it was just the idea that she was finally going to know, after all these years, how he felt. As he dressed himself that morning, he began to wonder how she would react. Would she just stare through him with those penetrating gray eyes? Would she blush? Would she look at him like he was crazy? Or worse, would she hate him and never look at him again? He honestly had no idea. But whatever it was, it was going to be a learning experience for him. He debated dressing in something nicer, but the way he looked didn't even matter. It's not like he was taking her to the prom or anything.

Today was a white t-shirt and dark jeans, these jeans fitting a little tighter than the lighter colored ones he wore yesterday. Peeta wasn't one that enjoyed wearing super tight jeans very much. First of all, he didn't have the legs for them. He had thicker, more athletic legs which would look plain odd in such tight fabric. And second off, they were not very comfortable when it came to the groin department. He just didn't understand how other guys could walk around stuffed into pants like that. It posed the joke that there was probably not very much to fit in, but Peeta was much too nice to say something like that, even if some of his friends had no problem doing so.

There was always an abundance of things to eat for breakfast in the Mellark household. Anything left over in the bakery the night before was either sold for a discounted price the next day or brought home for the family to enjoy. Peeta had decided to push the snooze button four times that morning, mainly because he had stayed up later than normal the night before, which meant that breakfast was going to have to be quick, if not nonexistent. Gathering all of his things, he grabbed a piece of cinnamon bread on his way out the door. He was greatly defying his mother's rules by eating and driving, but there was no way she was going to know. Both his mother and father were long gone by now.

As it always seems when one is apprehensive, the drive to school that morning seemed like it took much less time than usual. By the time he pulled into his assigned parking spot, the wheel was slick from his sweaty hands. He tried talking to himself, calming himself down, telling himself that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. He even tried telling himself that it wasn't a big deal.

Except it was a huge deal.

Everything from the car to actually getting to class was a blur of nerves. Peeta remembered talking to some friends in the hallway, chatting casually with the girl at the locker next to his, and then walking in a daze towards his first class. He took his seat by the door, trying to distract himself from thinking too much. It didn't help that almost as soon as he sat down, Katniss walked in looking just as beautiful as she did every day. He slowly followed her with his eyes as she sat down in her seat and began to chat quietly with Madge who was sitting next to her. Katniss never let very many people in, but the mayor's daughter had been one of the lucky ones. The girls had been friends for as long as he could remember.

"Good morning, everyone!" Miss Trinket interrupted Peeta's train of thought. "I hope everyone had a _fantastique_ time writing their poetry last night. I cannot _wait_ to hear what everyone has written!" Her eyes flitted around the room, seemingly picking her first victim to share their work with their class. Everyone in the class was holding their breath, the same 'Oh God, please don't pick me' look on their faces. Luckily, it seemed like she had decided to start with the people in the back of the classroom. Usually they were the lucky ones that were chosen last, and it was the more outgoing students in the front few rows that were picked on first. Nearly half the class period had passed before she started moving up towards the front of the classroom. She picked on Madge, who wrote a nice little rendition of the poem, speaking to a hawthorn plant. Katniss was also called before he was, and just as he suspected she incorporated the woods into it. Her writing was beautiful, just as Peeta suspected. Although it was just as mysterious, confusing, and closed off as she was.

"Alright...hmm, who's next? Ah, how about Peeta Mellark!"

Peeta's blood froze as he heard his name being called. He quickly flipped to the page in his notebook where he had written his poem. He quickly glanced from the drawing in the margin and up at Katniss, finding the flaws in his work. Nothing could be as beautiful as the real thing. Realizing that everyone in the class was staring at him, he took in a deep breath.

"The title of my poem is 'Contre Qui, Katniss.'"

Across the room, he saw Katniss and Madge exchange looks of confusion and apprehension. Her gray eyes were now watching him intently instead of staring blankly over his head, making his heart race even faster than it already was. He almost couldn't speak clearly, but he had to do this. Instead of staring at the paper, he locked eyes with Katniss across the room, and started to recite.

_"Against whom, Katniss,  
have you assumed these thorns?  
Is it your too fragile joy that caused you to become this armed thing?  
But is it from me that you protect yourself with this exaggerated defense?  
For how many times a day do I think about you, but you do not notice me at all?  
On the contrary,  
for twelve long years, you wound the affection that I long to give to you."_

Halfway through the poem, Peeta had averted his eyes back down to the paper. Once he had finished, the classroom was silent, everyone either staring at him or Katniss. Much to his discontent, she was sitting in her seat with a horrified look and a violent red tint to her cheeks.

_Well I fucked this one up_... he thought to himself. Thankfully, someone broke the awkward silence, even though it was one of the douchebags in the back.

"Get some Peeta!", was followed by several cat calls by his friends.

Well, he _was_ thankful.

"That's enough! What a sweet poem, Peeta!" Miss Trinket added nervously. Glancing at the clock, she thankfully noted that class was almost over and she wouldn't have to deal with this group of lusty teenagers anymore. "I think that's all we have time for today. Feel free to chat amongst yourselves until the bell rings."

Peeta risked a glance across the room to notice that Katniss was no longer staring him down, but instead she had her eyes on the floor. Madge wasn't even speaking to her, although the lovely blonde seemed to have a concerned look on her face. Great. So not only did Peeta put himself in an awkward position, but he also managed to drag Madge and Katniss down with him.

At the sound of the bell, everyone stood up, still enlightened by their conversations. Katniss was the first one out the door, even before Peeta himself, an act that must have been premeditated because she made sure she didn't leave the classroom without locking eyes with Peeta and giving him an ice cold stare.

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**I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you all, it was kind of difficult to write. I had the vision in my head and I wanted it to come out correctly and it was difficult to put into words. Although I have lots of ideas of where to go with this now. :3  
I would love reviews very much! :3  
Thank you all for your continued support and have a lovely day.**


	4. Chapter Four: The Girl's On Fire

**CONTRE QUI, KATNISS?**

**by savemesalzburg  
**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Er Mer Gerd, I am so sorry that I have taken so long to update this story. I have had so much to do the last couple weeks, I barely have time to pee. I'm not kidding. XD Fuck AP Classes. xD Anyway, this chapter is Katniss's reaction to the entire thing that happened in English class. I haven't really focused on her or visited inside of her head yet, so I'm going to be doing that with this chapter. Also Madge will have a bigger feature, and we'll hear from Gale within the next few chapters. I know you all have been waiting for this one. Teehee, I hope you enjoy this. And I would love to hear what you think through your reviews! :3  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games or the poem Contre Qui Rose.  
**

* * *

Chapter Four:

The Girl's on Fire

Katniss Everdeen had never been more embarrassed in her entire life. The silence in the air was suffocating to her, as were the eyes of her classmates. The attention was divided equally between her and Peeta. If they weren't gawking at the quiet, intelligent archery captain, they were glued to the suave and attractive baker's son. With every heartbeat, the slim brunette felt more fury rush through her veins. What in the world made him think that this was okay? It was no where near okay. In fact, it was utterly insulting. Katniss had never done anything to him! She had always been pleasnt whenever the blond boy had been around her. Gray eyes moved to look at Madge, who was the only person in the room that wasn't gawking. Instead, her best friend was looking at her sympathetically. In a better mindset, Katniss would have been appreciative of this kind gesture. For now, though, it only added to the feeling of mortification. She was thankful when Ms. Trinket broke the awkward silence, and moved to look at her desk. While they were given the last five minutes to talk amongst themselves, but Katniss didn't say a word. All she did was stare at her desk top, and she was thankful that Madge didn't try to start a conversation. So, for five minutes, Katniss sat and sulked over her desk.

The sound of the bell was a relief to both girls. However, Katniss was out of her seat before Madge could even process that it was time to go. With gray eyes as cold as steel, the brunette shot a glance at Peeta that could freeze his soul. It took the mayor's daughter two whole minutes to catch up with her tall, athletic friend. Madge wasn't at all overweight. She was slim, however a good deal shorter than Katniss. Not only that, but Katniss had an incredible amount of stamina from four straight years of archery training.

"Katniss!" the blonde said breathlessly, once she finally caught up with the fuming individual. "Katniss, wait up!"

"Sorry..." the brunette mumbled, slowing her pace slightly. The girls had gym class next, something that Madge hoped would help to better Katniss's mood. Sports were something that she was good at. madge, on the other hand, preferred sitting and playing the piano in her spare time. But she still tried to play nonetheless. Katniss didn't say anything other than her mumbled apology until they were safe in the back corner of the locker room.

"What makes him think that he can just play with someone's affections like that, huh?" she whispered angrily as she began to lift one of her many "Grandma Sweaters" over her head. Katniss joked that at times that after she graduated from high school, she was going to start her very own collection of ugly-ass sweaters and sell them to all of the filthy rich girls.

"What do you mean, Katniss?" Madge asked, quite confused by the topic of her outburst. She expected an angry rant about Peeta, but she was leaning more towards the spontanieaty of his actions as opposed to how he was supposidly "playing with her affections". As far as Madge knew, Katniss had no affection for anyone.

"How could he even know?" Katniss continued to rant without even acknowledging Madge's question. "There's no way he could ever know because no one else knows..."

"Katniss, you're not making any sense..."

"Don't worry about it, Madge," she said, pulling a ratty, old t-shirt over her head and quickly pulling on her sneakers, purposely avoiding the other girl's eyes.

"Do you like Peeta...?" she murmured in astonishment, realizing why Katniss was being so evasive with her.

"I said don't worry about it, Madge!"

There was silence afterwards as Katniss left the locker room in fury. Madge was left alone to dress herself, which she did quickly enough. Before she left to go and join her class, however, she took her phone out of her small purse and sent a text to Gale saying simply, "I need your help."

* * *

The rest of the day passed rather slowly until lunch time. Madge was correct in the sense that gym class would calm Katniss slightly. It didn't release all of her fury, but the majority of her emotion was placed into the game of basketball that they played during class. The brunette came into the locker room caked in sweat. Maybe the Grandma Sweater wasn't the best idea for today. However, after a hell of a lot of deoderant and a long drink of water, the thick fabric seemed a lot more bareable. The next two classes were easy for her: Honors Physics and AP History of Panem. She split up with Madge after gym, metting up with her again after the lunch bell.

"Are you feeling any better?" Madge asked when she saw Katniss appear at her locker. The brunette's arms were crossed over her chest, leaning one shoulder against the cold metal. As usual, she didn't have a lunch to eat. There was normally only enough food in the house to spare for one school lunch per day. Katniss was a good sister. She always made sure that Prim was the one with the full stomach, even if she had to starve all day until dinner. Most of the time, she even refused to Madge's offers of half of her sandwich or even just an apple that she had packed that morning. Suffering was worth it, she thought. Because one day, Katniss was going to make sure that the Everdeen family was the richest one in Panem.

"Kinda," she replied shortly. "Don't get me started again, though."

"Got it."

The two girls walked side by side with one another in silence, heading to their normal lunching spot by the physics lab. On the way, they were forced to walk pass most of the lockers that belonged to the rest of the senior class. Normally they were left to their own devices. Today, it seemed that everyone in the school had indulged in a ballsy sandwich for breakfast, because as she headed on her way, she heard the taunting words of, "Well look, if it isn't Peeta Mellark's latest admirer."

Katniss turned to the side quickly, her eyes settling on one of the cheerleaders who lived in District 1, the richest district that sent its children to this school. Her long blonde hair was pin straight, her pretty face was caked with make up, and her bubble gum pink lips were curled back in a sickeningly sweet smile. Her name was Glimmer, and around Panem High School, she was a goddess.

"Excuse me?" the brunette asked quietly.

"Word around the school is that Little Miss Welfare thinks that she can get with Peeta Mellark."

"Not necessarily..." Again, the look in her eyes became as hard as steel.

"Well let me tell you something," Glimmer said, coming so close to Katniss that her Victoria's Secret-enhanced breasts pressed against Katniss's sweater-engulfed chest. "Someone that hot isn't going to come anywhere near that flea-infested forest between your legs with a ten foot pole." With that, the blonde popped her gum in Katniss's face, pushed her back, and waved, once again smiling that sickeningly sweet smile. "Have a nice day!"

Katniss was so infuriated that she didn't even move at first. She was used to the constant slurs about her family's impoverished situation and her supposed lack of hygiene, even if the latter was false. That wasn't the infuriating part. The infuriating part was that Peeta Mellark thought that it was okay to ruin someone's already shitty existence.

"Katniss?" Madge asked softly. Instead of answering, the brunette began to barrel down the hallway towards Peeta's locker.

The baker's son had no idea what was in store for him.


End file.
